


I Can't Do This To You

by Angelicat2



Series: Sheith Month 2019 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Amputation, Angry Shiro (Voltron), Day 2-biggest fear, Galra reveal, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Poisoning, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Season/Series 01, Sheith Month 2019, or beginning of s2 maybe?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 19:50:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19448365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: Shiro has always been afraid that he'd have to hurt his best friend. He was even more scared of having what happened to him happen to Keith. On a mission to scout a planet, something goes terribly wrong, and Shiro is forced to do something he never wanted to in order to save Keith's life.





	I Can't Do This To You

“You guys understand what you are doing?” Allura stared at them with a stern face. Shiro stared back from the Black Lion’s seat, nodding as the others talked about what they needed to do. They were exploring a planet brought to their attention by a group of aliens who had abandoned their home planet when the Galra had attacked, fleeing to an outside moon to safety. Now, after Voltron’s reappearance, they wanted to move back to the planet, but they needed the paladins to scout for any remaining Galra bases. Pidge had noticed that there were no living signatures on the planet, so they didn’t have to worry about facing any alive Galra. But two remaining bases were there. They didn’t think there were any senteries either.

“Alright,” Allura responded back as she glanced at something off-screen for a moment, likely one of the aliens, “Inda says that you should be able to get there fine. The atmosphere seems to be breathable to even humans. Get back when you are finished so we can see whether we can get the Erias back to their planet.”

“Okay,” Shiro nodded again as the rest of his team’s faces turned to him on the screens, “We’ll split up because this planet is too big to cover in a group. Hunk, Lance, and Pidge, you three take the first base. Keith and I will take the second one on the other side.”

“Okay,” Pidge spoke before she frowned, “Just remember that our connection is finicky on our communicators and transportation will be tricky. You may not get your message through in some areas.”

“Got it, Pidge,” Shiro responded as he took off in his lion. The others reported back with their own confirmations before the five barreled to their parts of the planet. Shiro stared in astonishment as he raced to his own side. The planet was huge, easily the size of four Jupiters, but with the gravity proportionate of Earth. The ground was a dark silver color with golden specks littered around like freckles. Small trees stood like blood red pencils thrust into the ground.

“This is a pretty cool planet,” Keith spoke into the screen, on a private channel, “Maybe we can find something to bring back to the others?”

“We probably can,” Shiro smiled as he gazed over at the younger before landed his lion, Keith landed Red at the same moment just a ways from him, “But for now, we should check out the base.”

“Yes, sir,” Keith saluted before his screen turned back and the lion’s mouth opened. Shiro coughed softly before he stood, ignoring the chuckle he got from his lion, “Shhh, Black. It’s nothing, really.”

The majestic lion seemed to think otherwise as she rolled her eyes, but a low rumble of contentment rolled through her as she lowered her jaw. Shiro tapped her mouth on the way out, silently thanking her and telling her to stand guard over them while they worked. Without hearing the reply, he stepped out of the machine and into the sunlight. Placing his hand over his face, he saw that the base was only a few hundred feet away, within walking distance. Nodding at Keith, they both moved to the place.

It was uneventful. The place had been abandoned for years if not centuries, dust gathered in every corner and no power throughout except to the door, which Keith somehow got open by placing his hand to. After this long, Shiro wasn’t too concerned about why it had opened. Probably faulty wiring or something. Inside was nothing of peculiar notice, place empty of any sign of life or activity.

“Should we go?” Keith asked with uncertainty in his tone, “I’m not seeing anything we have to take care of here.”

“Yeah,” Shiro nodded as he placed his hand on the younger’s shoulder, “Let’s get out of here. We can explore for half a varga, a varga at most, and then we should probably get back.”

“Sounds good,” Keith agreed as they strolled out of the building. The lions stayed powered down, knowing their plan. The two walked the opposite way, going into the thick strand of trees. It was nothing like Earth, but Shiro found himself relaxing as time went on. They walked further and further from their lions, looking around for anything that seemed likely to be useful to the group. There were few plants about, and the dirt seemed poor for growing anything. Why the people of the planet wished to return stumped Shiro. This place was likely not inhabitable in the near future unless they had some type of growing agricultural tech they didn’t know about.

Shiro rubbed his glove against the nearest tree, which was soft to the touch in a way that made Shiro cringe. Glancing to his side, he realized Keith had moved out of his eyesight, close enough to be heard but not seen as the older could hear the gentle crunch of his boots on the ground. Shiro wasn’t worried because he knew Keith could take care of himself.

Feeling that half an hour had to be up, if not more, Shiro moved forward to call out to Keith when a loud bang. A loud yelp followed right after that, and Shiro’s stomach dropped at the sound. Something had happened to Keith. That was his voice. Shiro knew it like he knew himself. Bolting for the spot, he arrived to see Keith on the ground, laying on his side. 

“Keith!” The older shouted as he raced to his friend’s side. Keith grumbled softly before glancing at him over his shoulder, brows moving up in confusion, “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m...I don’t know,” Keith panted softly as Shiro got closer, “I was walking. I held out my hand to touch one of the trees and then...something sharp jumped out at me and I was on the ground.”

Shiro frowned and looked around. No one was about, so it couldn’t have been an ambush. And the place was dead, no machines still powered to do so.

“Shiro,” Keith blinked as he sat up a bit, only to flinch, “I can’t move my arm.”

Shiro snapped his gaze to Keith’s arm. His right one was fine, clenching to the ground beneath them. But his left-

Shiro gasped as he took in the sight. Keith’s wrist was stuck on some type of cuff. It looked a lot like a weird tube with green liquid inside and barbed spikes that dug into Keith’s skin. The metal was dark black and shiny, unaffected by time and weather. Taking a closer look, Shiro’s stomach plummeted as he noticed that it wasn’t holding onto his best friend’s arm, it was spiked straight through the younger’s wrist, bolted strongly to the surface of the ground.

“Shiro?” Keith asked with some fear in his voice, toned into Shiro’s fright, “Wh-what’s wrong?”

“I’m…” Shiro swallowed roughly before stepping closer so that his feet were by Keith’s back, brushing the man, “I’m going to try getting that off.”

“Getting what off?” Keith wondered before glancing at it and paling, “What?”

“I don’t know what it is,” Shiro carefully touched it, waiting for something to change, but nothing happened, “But we have to get it off. It’s spiked through your wrist, and I’m not sure what it is putting into your body.”

"Well, whatever it is," Keith grunted as he tried to yank his arm away but stopping three tugs in, "I can already feel it, and it's not good."

Shiro cursed under his breath before powering up his arm. Bringing the burning limb to the metal, he stood there for a whole minute, finally realizing that no damage was being done to it. The metal was whole as if the quintessence-fueled plasma was nothing. This would not cut through, and that worried Shiro. His arm...as much as he hated it...had become his most useful tool. It could cut through solid steel and glass, but whatever this was apparently was much stronger. 

"Use," Keith paused for a second before he pulled out something from his belt. It looked to be a knife covered in wrappings, one of which Shiro had never seen before, "Use this. It's sh-sharp."

Shiro took it in hand before Keith gasped. The older looked at him in worry as he heard a few snapping noises as if twigs had broken. Glancing at his friend's wrist, he felt his chest tighten. Where the tube was, Keith's flesh was bruising black and blue from what he could see through the holes in the armor. Making a quick decision, Shiro cut away the material at Keith's shoulder and removed the armor to get a better look. A single red line curved its way towards Keith's elbow, in a loopy line. Another pop filled the air, and Shiro pushed down bile in the back of his throat as Keith's hand shifted like his bone had been turned to powder underneath his skin. Keith made a wounded noise, something between a grunt and cry.

"Keith!" Shiro yelled as he gripped the knife even tighter, "Keith. Talk to me. What's going on?"

"I don't kn-know," Keith grimaced as he collapsed back onto his side, "Th-think it's...ah...ripping my ha-hand apart fr-from the inside."

Another crackle rang through the air, and Shiro practically stabbed the blade into the device. Pushing as hard as he could with his mechanical arm, he pulled back to see only a dim nick on it. It hardly even left a scratch on the ebony metal. Shiro tried harder this time, pressing down with all of his weight. Once again, only a scratch was left. Poking at it, Shiro glared...there had to be a weak spot on it somewhere. Everything had a weak spot. This did too.

...They just had to find it...

"Sh-Shiro," Keith panted softly as Shiro snapped his eyes to him. He pulled his arm up a bit, only to let out a whimper as another crack rang through the air and the red line spread an inch, "I know you w-won't wanna do this, b-but if we don't...ah...I'm not gonna l-leave here with you."

Shiro felt the color drain from his face. He knew what Keith was talking about. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He was not going to do what the Galra did to him. No. Not to Keith. Not to his best friend. Never to Keith, who shouldn’t even be in this mess. Not to the young man who meant everything to him.

"I...The team will be here soon," Shiro felt a tightness in his chest as he watched the other who was clearly in so much pain, biting on his lip to stop from crying out, "I'm not going to hurt you like this, Keith. I won't. They took my arm from me like this, and I can't do the same."

Keith's eyes widened in shock before they settled down in understanding. Tears raced to his eyes as Shiro watched the other reach his right arm out blindly. The older took it into his larger one as Keith grimaced deeply, another raw sound emitting from his arm as he tensed. A few seconds later, he finally spoke.

"I know it hurts," Keith flinched as he shook slightly with pain, "And I don't want you to have to do it. If we were sw-switched, I'd be begging you n-not to have me do it too. If I could, I’d d-do it myself, b-but I'll bleed out i-if I use my knife."

Another faint snap filled the air as Keith groaned, sweat sliding down his face and onto the cracked armor plate.

"I know...I k-know that if you don't get rid of my arm right now, you'll regret it later. I could never hurt you like that, Shiro. I...your well-being matters a lot to me. But if you don't do it, I'm gonna die."

Another snap raced through the air, and Keith couldn't quite hold back his soft scream of pain. That snapped Shiro out of whatever had clogged his mind up. Keith was correct. Keith...his best friend would die if Shiro didn't get him out. Trying to break the trap bolted through Keith's wrist didn't work before, and it wouldn't now. If the...poison got up to Keith's chest, it was too late. His most important organs would be shredded to bits. He would never survive that.

But...Shiro couldn't hurt Keith like this. He knew exactly what it was like to have his arm removed when fully awake and on no medication. It was pure agony. But as he gazed at Keith, he realized Keith was already experiencing that. The younger man was beyond pale as he shivered wildly, whimpering loudly every time his pinned arm so much as twitched. The poison was crawling through his veins, ripping apart his muscles and bones, as proven with another horrific crack. Keith screeched in pain as tears raced down his cheeks. By now, his lip was bitten through, scarlet beads gathered on his white skin. 

Shiro closed his eyes for a moment, took a breath in while practically hearing Keith's voice in his head telling him to do it, and opened his eyes. Feeling a bit more centered, he powered up his arm. The glow took over his whole arm through the paladin armor and he didn't have to worry about removing it like they did Keith's. Bringing it up to Keith's quivering limb, the older looked over at Keith, getting a weak nod from him as he tensed.

"You ca-can...do it, S-Sh-iro," he groaned as another pop filled the air. By now, the poison was to his elbow, which was already black and blue and looking puffy like the muscles weren't attached to each other anymore, "I tr-trust you."

Shiro winced but braced himself as he brought his hand down on the flesh just midway between Keith's shoulder and elbow, not wanting the poison to continue working its way up his arm. He hated how he had to choose the exact area that the Galra had cut his arm off at. At least Keith wouldn't bleed out this way though. They'd still have to worry about shock and infection though.

The flesh burned. At first, Keith was silent as if he hadn't felt it. Shiro felt sick as he smelt skin burning. He was hurting his best friend. He could feel himself sliding through muscle like it was butter, and as much as he wanted to cut faster and get it done with, he needed to make sure it cauterized. That meant slowing down the pace. 

Keith didn't release his first full pain-filled scream until Shiro hit bone. As his hand sawed through the hard humorous bone, Keith cried and tried to pull away. But both the bolt and Keith's growing weakness prevented him from moving much, which Shiro was silently and reluctantly grateful for. He didn't want to make this messier than it already was. 

Getting through the rest of the muscles and skin was eerily easy after that. Shiro glanced over at the limb really quickly to make sure it wasn't bleeding before he picked Keith up to his chest, rushing away from the spot. Keith's remaining arm stuck to the bolt continued to pop and crack as Shiro gagged. The sounds would haunt his dreams for a long time. 

When they were a good enough distance away, Shiro finally paused to catch his breath, adrenaline still coursing through him. Keith was still awake as the older could see from this angle, head tilted against his shoulder, but there was a far-away glassy gleam to his dark eyes. Shiro's heart broke as his chest ached.

"Keith?" He asked softly as the younger stared at his chest plate, "Keith. You have to stay with me, okay? You can't fall asleep, buddy."

Keith didn't respond, and Shiro's heartbeat elevated as the smaller's eyes began to droop. Shiro quickly laid him down on the ground before remembering some of the basics he learned in first aid class years ago. Grabbing the nearest flat rock, he moved it to Keith's feet before putting it underneath them. Keith's skin was ash white and cold to the touch, even through Shiro's gloves. He was breathing a bit quickly as he trembled slightly. 

Fuck. Keith was going into shock. Shiro had thought they'd have more time. If only he could get to his lion first. There was a heated blanket he could use in there to stifle off the cold Keith was feeling, and possibly medical equipment in the aid kit that could prevent infection. And bandages and burn cream that actually worked on these types of burns.

Shiro tried his comms. Like Pidge had said, it was down and not working. Damn it. What was he going to do now? He had survived the arena, thinking he'd be done with injuries like this once he got away. Thinking he'd be free from _causing_ injuries like these. Free from being a monster. 

He should have known...

A loud roar ripped through his thoughts as he whipped his head up to the sky. The man squinted before he was able to see Red racing towards them like there was no tomorrow. Black followed shortly after her, not as quickly, but at her fastest. A low rumble of worry echoed in his head.

'Fire-sister is worried,' Black practically growled in his mind, 'Her paladin grows weak.'

'I know,' Shiro thought back to her, recalling the past few minutes and the trap, to let Black know what had happened, 'We have to get him home. He'll be safe there.'

Black agreed as Red settled onto the ground, her muzzle hovering over them with fear permeating her body. Shiro didn't need to be connected to her to understand that she was frightened for her paladin's life. A small whine left her before she lowered her jaw.

Shiro picked up Keith quickly before moving into her mouth. Rushing up to the cockpit, he gently placed Keith onto the bed nearby before rummaging through the cabinet in the back. Pulling out the first aid kit, he took out the bandages and burn cream before snatching the thick red blanket from its spot. Racing to Keith's side, he applied the cream as best he could before bandaging it. Pulling the blanket up to his best friend's chin, Shiro finally glanced down. He was still holding Keith's blade in his right hand, fingers curling so tightly that the wrapping had slipped off. A blue-purple light shone through the room, flickering gently like a heartbeat every few seconds. Setting it down near Keith's side, he turned to the pilot's seat. 

He didn't sit down because that was Keith's spot. Keith was alive, and Shiro wouldn't fly his lion. But perhaps the lion would help him out.

"Hey, Red," Shiro waited for a second before continuing, "I'm not your paladin, but he needs medical treatment. Can you...can you get us back to the castle? And we need to contact the castle so we can get a pod ready."

With no hesitation on Red's part, they shot off the ground smoothly before the screen popped up with Allura staring to the side with an unhappy face. Before Shiro could get her attention, she turned her eyes to him.

"Shiro, how was the Galra base?" She asked before her eyes widened, "Why are you in the Red Lion. Where is Keith?"

"We ran into some trouble," Shiro frowned as he glanced back at the bed. At least Keith was looking a bit better, "Keith needs a pod. I got bandages and medication on his injury, but he's going to need the pod to heal anything else. There may be traces of poison in his body."

"I…" The princess paused before her gaze turned determined, "Coran will have a pod ready, and I'll be waiting."

"Thank you," Shiro sighed softly before the channel dropped. The older man walked back to Keith's side, carefully gripping his right hand with his own flesh hand, "I'm here for you, Keith. I'm here."

…..

By the time Red landed in the hangar, Keith was coming to. Shiro felt his hand tightening before he glanced up at his friend. Keith's eyes slid open as those dark orbs gazed at Shiro. A tiny smile reached his lips before he fell back to sleep, going limp without pain. Shiro took a deep breath in before grabbing Keith into his arms, keeping the blanket over the younger before leaving the lion who grumbled softly.

"I'll take care of him, Red," Shiro smiled reassuringly as he petted the inside of her jaw, "He'll come back to you."

The lion gave a sharp purr before opening her mouth, letting them leave. In the hangar was Allura who frowned in worry. The three younger were also behind her, with a few bruises and cuts on their armor, but nothing life-threatening. 

"What's...uh…" Hunk asked quietly as he stared at the man tucked to his chest, "Is Keith okay?"

"He will be," Shiro nodded seriously before he stared at the spot where he knew Keith's limb was gone, "After...a while."

"What does that mean?" Pidge asked as she raised a brow, "What happened, Shiro?"

"I'd…" Shiro gulped, shaking his head before holding Keith tighter. Said man let out a tiny huff before snuggling into his shoulder, "Rather not say yet. Nothing...nothing happened in the base."

"Well," Allura spoke as she led them to the medical bay, "We'll need to know in order to treat him, but...I don't want to push too hard."

"Thank you," Shiro responded as they walked through the door. True to her word, Coran was preparing a pod. The orange-haired man was typing on the pod faster than Shiro can keep track of.

"Ah, there you are, Number One," he spoke up after turning to them. His smile turned sad when he saw Keith, "What seems to bother Number Four?"

“His arm got stuck in some sort of trap,” Shiro nearly growled as it finally hit him. Why the hell were they not told there were traps? Why had it set off on Keith, but not Shiro? Shiro had touched a tree - the same tree - moments before, “Where are they?”

“Where are who?” Pidge wondered as Shiro held Keith closer, “And shouldn’t we get Keith into the pod?”

“I…” Shiro closed his eyes before hearing Keith’s voice telling him that ‘patience yields focus’ and letting out a sigh, “You’re right. We need to get Keith into a pod. Just...ahhh...don’t be too surprised when you see his wound.”

“Ummm…” Hunk frowned with worried eyes, clenching his hands together, “Why is this worrying me? What wound? Why would we be surprised? Guys?”

Shiro ignored them as he peeled the blanket away from Keith’s side. When the material pushed away from Keith’s shoulder, the others gasped softly as silence filled the air. Shiro stared at the limb, which was not one of the worst injuries he had seen, but one that made Shiro feel the sickest. This was Keith, the literal fire on their team. He shouldn't be laying here like this.

“What happened?” Lance asked as he turned pale, taking a step back, “Why is mullet missing his arm? Wha-”

“Look,” Shiro sighed as he mindlessly worked to get the armor off of his best friend with one arm, “It was the only way to save him. Keith got stuck in some type of trap, and we didn’t...we didn’t have time to get out of there without…”

Shiro stopped talking, sure they already knew what he was talking about. He listened as they placed a white pod suit on him before he was gently laid into the pod. Shiro carefully rubbed his thumb along the other’s cheek before the glass sealed shut.

“Well, good news!” Coran spoke as he twirled his mustache, “There is certainly no trace of poison or outside substances in Number Four’s body. And the wound will heal without any issue, leaving hardly any scarring. He should only be in the pod for a few vargas at most.”

“And the bad news?” Someone asked as Shiro zoned into the conversation.

“Well,” Coran frowned at them before his purple eyes found Shiro’s, a knowing gleam to them, “The pods can’t regrow a limb, only heal the damage done.”

Shiro stormed out of the room. He...he was going to talk to the aliens. They had to know about the traps. They had sent them in blind, and his...best friend got injured.

“Shiro!” Allura shouted from behind him, but he marched on, “What are you doing?”

Strolling into the room, he glared at the leader. The alien glanced at him, her grey eyes seemingly innocent as her skin rippled to a soft yellow.

“What can I do for you, paladi-”

Forget diplomacy. Shiro was pissed. One of his team members got hurt because the alien didn’t inform them enough. And the saddest part, Shiro should have asked. But he hadn’t. It was just as much his fault this happened to Keith as her fault. Maybe more since he had been the one to permanently injure Keith.

“When were you going to tell us?” Shiro snapped as he stood in front of the woman who didn’t cower. Shiro was impressed but didn’t think anything of it as he glared at her.

“I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to,” her thin brows moved up in confusion, “What is going on?”

“Our teammate got injured severely,” Shiro’s tone turned low as he stared at her. In the background, some of the aliens with her stepped back in slight fear. Normally, Shiro would hate himself for causing that reaction, but when it came to one of his getting hurt - when it came to Keith being hurt, he didn’t care. No one fucked with his friends like this, “Because you didn’t tell us that there were traps on your planet. That information would have been useful to us.”

“But…” She scowled before her eyes looked over them all, “The Red Paladin...You’re all human. It shouldn’t have been set off.”

“What shouldn’t have been set off?” Allura stated from Shiro’s side, no longer looking like a peaceful princess trying to keep calm, but rather a warrior ready to go to battle, “Why did the traps go off for Keith?”

“For thousands of years,” the woman explained as she glanced out the window to her planet, “Our planet was safe from the Galra. None of them ever touched down in our home. But that all changed when they found out that we live much longer than most other species. They invaded, wanting to know why we lived so long...if we were using anything to sustain our lives. But our people struck back. We caught the smaller patrols and held them on trials. In that time, we created special traps that prevented the Galra from getting free and running back to their Empire.”

She paused for a moment.

“The traps didn’t activate on the Galra as long as someone without any drops of Galra blood was with them,” she stared at Shiro, “Any Galra who attempted to fight back and run away was caught in those traps, arm or leg bolted to the tree, unable to escape as poison ripped them apart from the inside out. Most didn’t even have the time to cut their limb away before it reached their hearts. Even if they did, they died by being struck by another trap or to the elements.”

“Oh man,” Hunk turned green as he swallowed thickly, “That’s...that’s messed up.”

"Are you suggesting that my paladin is a Galra?" Allura demanded as she frowned, "Surely the traps went off because they are faulty."

"The poison would not have injured anyone without Galra blood," Inda stared back with a grimace, "So I assume your Red Paladin must be Galra, to some extent.”

Half. Shiro’s eyes widened as he recalled how Keith never knew his mom. A purple woman would have stood out in Keith’s memory, but not since she left so early on in Keith’s life. But why were the Galra on Earth? Why hadn’t they known? How had she gone undetected for all that time? What was her reason to be there? Did it have something to do with the knife Keith had? He always kept it by his side, always on his belt. The symbol underneath the cloth looked like something Shiro had seen in a dream or...in a memory long forgotten. He had the feeling it had something to do with his escape.

His thoughts turned to Keith as the others rambled on in the background, nothing more than noise to him. 

What was Keith going to feel when he found out? He...He was going to blame himself, for things people did of a race he didn’t even know he was part of. It was bad enough what he had experienced back on Earth. Keith...He didn’t need more self-doubt and fear. Shiro wouldn’t allow it. As soon as Keith got out of the pod, he was going to reassure him that he was always going to be there for him. He wasn’t giving up on him, even now. 

He never could.

**Author's Note:**

> I plan on making a series for this, just so you know. :)


End file.
